Bloodstained Hollows – Road of the Defeated
by Kuugen the Fox
Summary: A Valiant Hearts II Special. This time: An addition to the Destructia Arc.


**Valiant Hearts II**

Special Chapter II

An Addition to the Destructia Arc

_Bloodstained Hollows – Road of the Defeated_

"It's been two years. Cid's failed to force the gateway open many times. I don't think they're still alive." Leon was leaning against a wall, eyes closed, wearing an expression of worry.

Hollow Bastion was in critical condition. After the three Keybladers vanished through the gate to the world called Agrabah, the gate had seemed to malfunction, then completely exploded. Since then, there had been no sign of the girls, and the gateway itself refused to open, even when Cid risked the stability of their own world by trying to open it with pure force.

It didn't look good for them. All three Keybladers were gone, and they had failed to establish contact with the kingdom of Disney and their king, Mickey. The Organization had noticed the Keybladers were gone and made their move. They had started to attack worlds, destroying them, taking what they had come for. There was nothing Leon and the others could do. They had the power, but not the means to travel to other worlds all the time.

But all of that would soon be irrelevant. A storm was coming, one of a magnitude that no living being had ever witnessed.

The atmosphere was grim. Tifa was in the room as well as Yuffie, but neither spoke up. There was no need to speak. Not anymore. They knew it was true. The girls were either trapped or dead. They would've come back or sent a message somehow after two years.

Aerith stormed into the room, not paying attention to the fact that she slammed the door open violently, startling everyone. "They're here."

It had begun. The Organization and the Heartless had been quiet for some time now. Thanks to the efforts of Yuffie, they knew that Maleficent and the leader of the Organization, Xemnas, were working together. What the deal was, they didn't know. But they knew that it bore no good for them.

"A massive onslaught of Heartless has been reported far to the west. They're progressing. They'll be here in roughly three hours," Aerith reported. She wasn't wearing a dress but combat attire—a tight one-piece that gave her freedom to move and bracelets to amplify magic power that had been manufactured by Rydia. She was ready.

Aerith had been…different after she came to accept the loss of the girls. She wasn't the same. She was still kind and loving, but there was something…cold growing in her. Something that everyone was afraid of. Something that might break loose.

Tifa too, had changed, and for the worse. She had become a cold woman. The only thing that mattered to her now was Aerith, and the martial artist had spent day after day in preparation for this fight. She was wearing her usual black clothes, but she had cut her hair short. She was ready.

Yuffie had had the hardest time over these past two years. It had taken her a long time to get over the loss of Olette. Unable to accept that Olette was dead, that she would never see her again, Yuffie lost herself in alcohol for some time. She closed her heart to anyone else, treasuring the few days of bliss she had. Each day seemed like just another wasted morning, another wasted night.

Yuffie tried to get over her depression with work, running one mission after another—but in the end, it only hid what was obvious. Yuffie's heart never healed. Soon, she spoke to people less and less, unaware that she was shutting off everyone from herself. She spent day after day in her room, thinking of ever-fading memories. Yuffie could never forgive herself and the Organization for letting it come to this.

By the time she woke up from her depression, accepted Olette's death, everyone had changed. There was no longer a place in their lives for the lighthearted Yuffie they once knew. And she had lost that part of herself. The only thing that remained were memories of brighter, better days. It was like the sky itself had become polluted with dark, thick clouds.

Now, the old Yuffie was no more. Memories were fading every day. Yuffie had started to write them down for herself in order to not forget about Olette, the only person who had ever loved her back. But it was of no use. She couldn't remember her touch, her smell. And after a while, only the impression of her face remained. It was only then that Yuffie lived on to pay the Organization for what they had done to her. To Hollow Bastion. To everyone. To Olette.

As for Cloud, nobody knew where he had gone. They noticed only months after the girls had vanished that he was nowhere to be found. Sephiroth seemed to have left as well. People thought that those two, destined to fight for all eternity, had taken off to settle their score. Once in a blue moon, rumors of two powerful fighters reached Hollow Bastion. But if those two were Cloud and Sephiroth, nobody could tell.

At this time, nobody cared. Cloud's obsession with Sephiroth had become worse every day while they still knew him. People thought that since he had left, he didn't care about Hollow Bastion anymore. They lost a soldier. The friend they once knew, they had lost long ago.

No one was quite like they used to be. The loss of the girls had been quite a shock, and now the day had come. The Heartless and the Nobodies. Hollow Bastion was their last obstacle. They hadn't heard from the Kingdom of Disney in months. Leon assumed it had fallen.

Tifa exchanged a gaze with Aerith. They still loved each other, but it was hollow. The girls had been part of their lives and they had been brutally ripped out of it. The hole that was left was filled with dark emotions like hate and vengeance.

Leon knew it was unnecessary to say it, but he was still the governor of Hollow Bastion. He had taken on the role to keep people who had lost their hope going. With the loss of the Keybladers, Leon felt that he had to take action to prevent the total loss of hope. Almost nobody believed the girls would come back by the time he assumed his position as governor.

"Get ready for battle. We—" He couldn't finish his sentence. The outside was an ocean of flames in a matter of seconds. The shock wave of the impact acted as a catapult to throw Aerith across the room against the wall.

"They're here!" Leon screamed. He drew his sword and ran outside, followed by Yuffie. Tifa helped Aerith up and instantly moved away from her. The glow in her eyes was inhuman. It was like pure malice was pouring out of them.

Running outside, Aerith found herself in a nightmare. It wasn't just the house in front of them that was burning. No, all of Hollow Bastion seemed to be on fire. It was an inferno of flames and heat. Up above them was floating one of _them_. Wielding his spears, riding on a dragon. Aerith remembered his name well. He was the one that impaled and killed Rydia right in front of her, laughing at her, scorning her.

"_Xaldin!!_"

The noise of the burning buildings was immense, but Aerith's anger made its way to Xaldin, who looked down. His expression was unconcerned, as if he were looking at mere insects. With a near minuscule smile, he rode his dragon away from the pulk in the direction of the canyon. Aerith wasted no time.

"_Thundaga!_" She threw her most powerful lightning spell instantly at Xaldin, but he was fast. He threw one of his spears right into the roaring ball of lightning, causing it to explode in mid-air not even ten feet above ground. The resulting explosion caused one building to shatter and another to collapse. By the time the smoke was gone, Aerith had vanished along with it.

"I'm going after her!" Tifa yelled over at Leon and Yuffie. She ignored the change in terrain and virtually broke her way through any remains without regard for anything that got damaged in the process. Aerith was the last bright thing in Tifa's life, and she would protect her.

---Valiant Hearts---

"Oh, who do we have here? Little Miss Ninja! Still playing your tricks on people with your little toys?"

An Organization member with an eyepatch appeared out of thin air behind Yuffie, who immediately put some distance between them. Leon tried to intervene, but he couldn't—someone else had suddenly appeared next to the man with the eyepatch. It was the blond, middle-aged man, the one named Luxord. Kairi had reported that he was a master of trickery, Leon remembered.

"I will be your opponent," Luxord said. His expression was mocking, and he waved his hand towards Leon, inviting him to attack.

Leon looked in Yuffie's direction, but she was already gone, fighting with Xigbar somewhere else. This wasn't good. They should have avoided splitting up. If only Merlin were here…but he had gone to seek help from Yen Sid, a powerful arch-sorcerer.

Leon paid bitterly for the little diversion in his attention. Luxord had already closed in and hit him with such force that Leon immediately was thrown into a nearby wall. The hot stone burned on his skin, through the leather and his clothes. He spat blood. He was at a definite disadvantage here.

Deciding that it was for the best to go with all he had from the beginning, Leon concentrated for just a blink of second to use his special move—using raw energy to extend his gunblade to many times its original length and power. But instead of storming at Luxord, he used a feint and pretended to be exhausted for a short moment.

The gambler didn't fall for it. "I see you are no fool. But those cheap tricks won't work on me. Let me introduce myself." Luxord seemed to be a big talker, but it was a trick. He nearly instantly transported behind Leon, attacking his back. "I am Luxord, Gambler of Fate. I'm the guy who's gonna kill you, human!"

With another brutal attack, Leon was thrown in the other direction. His sword was giving off steam. Luxord had taken too long.

Barely in time, Leon had turned around and blocked the attack. The vibration of the impact on his sword was so strong that the pain in his hand almost made him drop his weapon. This was no easy foe. Instant teleportation, those powerful attacks…and who knew what else he had hidden.

Taking a deep breath, Leon slashed the ground, causing a great deal of dust to rise that reduced the visibility to zero with all the fire around them. Luxord wasn't sure. Was it a feint, or was it an attack? Deciding on the latter, he put up a shield, but it was too late.

Leon closed in with enormous speed and had already penetrated Luxord's range when the shield was thrown up. It took too long to use the gunblade to slash, so he decided for a full body tackle, kicking the blond brutally in the stomach. Luxord was sent flying into a nearby wall that immediately collapsed over him. But Leon knew it wasn't enough. He needed to make sure.

"_Fira! Fira! Fira!_" He sent fireball after fireball into the pile of burning stone, causing one explosion after another. Only using a few seconds to concentrate energy in the gunblade, he randomly slashed the assumed position of the Organization member. The flow of blood seeping from under the pile was a clear sign. He had caused fatal damage, and he could use the blood flow to guess Luxord's exact position.

Leon turned around, whirled and attacked the exact point the blood seemed to come from. It was a vital hit. He could feel it.

"_Fira!_" At the end of the gunblade, a fireball exploded and the rocks turned into molten stone. That should have killed him for sure.

Not letting down his guard, Leon checked his surroundings and decided to search for Cid. Tifa and Aerith could handle themselves, and Yuffie…he would only be a liability in a fight with her.

Using his gunblade to clear the way, he headed over to the district where Cid lived. Remaining time until the Heartless reached Hollow Bastion: two hours and forty minutes.

---Valiant Hearts---

Aerith was an extremely powerful wizard and Xaldin wasn't very well-versed in the arcane arts. Too bad they had lost Demyx to that green-haired bitch. And this woman was even more powerful. But he still had the advantage. It was all going according to the Superior's plan.

Xaldin was riding on his energy dragon over the canyon, Aerith constantly throwing spells at him. He had no time to attack her, as he had to defend himself. One direct hit and even he would be done for. But it was the same for her. If he could hit her even once with his spears, she was dead. It was like a battle of shooting blindly with cannons. Whoever hit first won.

Aerith knew that this fight was going nowhere. She needed to use more powerful magic, but without Tifa to keep the enemy busy, she would have to do it herself.

"_Firaga!_" Aerith threw another ball of fire at Xaldin at an unexpected angle, causing him to force the dragon to ascend. This was her chance.

"_Aquarius, Spirit of Water, lend me your power and blind my foe._" It was just a short recitation, but it worked—an extremely thick mist rose from her hands, covering the entire area.

Xaldin forced his dragon even higher so that he could see again. This was bad. He knew from the battle with the green-haired sorceress that they could utilize extremely powerful spells given enough time. From the battle up until now, he figured that something big was coming.

The noise from the burning town and the fighting that was going on was loud, so he couldn't hear what was going on. He had only one choice. His not knowing where the woman's attacks would come from and how powerful they would be made him nearly defenseless, so he decided to attack first.

Assembling all his spears in mid-air, Xaldin loaded them with electrical energy and threw them in a circle formation inside the mist. A second later, the energy unloaded itself into the ground and caused a massive explosion, the shockwave causing the mist to disperse.

"…_and so I pledge myself to thee. Let us walk the path of destruction together and destroy those fools that stand in my way. Ramuh, Lord of Th_—" Aerith had almost been successful in her summoning when something hit her brutally in the back. It was like her bones broke when she flew over thirty feet, crashing into the ground.

When she got up, she saw what hit her—Luxord. But when did he…?

Aerith had no time to think. "_Reflect!_" Erecting a barrier in last second, two of Xaldin's spears were blocked and two more penetrated the barrier, stabbing the ground to the right and left of her. Now it was two against one. This wasn't good.

Luxord had already rushed in to deliver another blow when Aerith pulled out a small dagger and slashed the palm of her hand. Blood was the strongest amplifier a magician could use, and using one's own blood was the most potent. But it was also very dangerous.

Aerith waited until the last second, until Luxord was close, and then breathed in deeply. The malice in her eyes frightened even Luxord for a split second.

"_Ultima!!_"

It seemed time was slowing down for Xaldin. In front of the woman, just a few feet ahead of Luxord, five rings were forming.

There was no way Luxord could escape now, but he wasn't important anyway. Xaldin was in the direction line of fire and had to move out of it. Forcing the dragon to ascend as fast as he could, he tried to evade the attack, but he could already could feel the energy closing in on him. If this hit, even _scratched_ him, he would be done for.

The rings merged, and in an instant everything vanished. A second later, a beam of green shimmering energy erupted from the place the rings had been.

Luxord suffered a direct hit and was instantly turned to dust. The energy scorched the bottom of the dragon's tail and even that was instantly annihilated. Xaldin lost his balance and forced the dragon to land, seeking safe grounds. What power! The beam virtually turned everything to ash.

Blood running from her hands, eyes and mouth, Aerith gazed at Xaldin. "That day, you took everything from us. Now you shall pay for it. _Creator of the inferno, heir to the lands of Arkagin, master of flame and fire, Ifrit, I summon thee to serve as my_—"

This sensation…it couldn't be. Luxord had appeared behind her, hitting her again with that fearsome attack of his.

How was that possible? He took a direct hit from an amplified Ultima, strengthened by blood magic. No being should be able to survive that. What…what _was_ he?!

But there was no time to lose. Luxord attacked again and Aerith was too slow to put up a barrier. Getting hit again, she was thrown up in the air. She wasn't the type to be able to fight two foes at once, not of these caliber. Unable to defend herself, she took another blow. High in mid-air, Xaldin was waiting for her on a newly-created dragon.

In a matter of seconds, she was right in front of him. "Your life ends here, human."

Everything went red. In a wave of excruciating pain, Aerith cried out as her chest and stomach were impaled by spears. Blood ran down her body, and Aerith could feel the grasp of death coming closer. Nothing could save her now. These wounds were fatal, and she didn't have the time to heal herself. But there was still something she could do.

Grabbing Xaldin's throat, Aerith pulled herself closer, ignoring the growing pain of the spears penetrating her body, and she grinned. Sending a shock of magical energy through Xaldin's body caused him to lose his concentration, and the dragon dissolved. Blood was running from her mouth when she started to speak.

"_Heir to Hell and Lord of Destruction, I pledge myself to thee! For my soul, for my life, grant me your power, grant my desire! Eternal you are, reign over fire, reign over inferno. Master of Ifrit, Master of Salamander, I call thee!! Come upon this world and destroy my enemy! I hail you, __**Belias**__!_"

Xaldin knew that he couldn't escape. Her grip was as tight as iron. She knew she would die and decided to take him and Luxord with her. They were high over the canyon and below them…two claws seemed to be tearing apart the very world itself. A face as grotesque as the devil, horned and breathing flames, was looking at him, staring right at him. As he looked below, he could see someone else coming his way—the black-clad woman.

"_Aerith, no!!_" Tifa yelled as she ran towards the canyon. Falling down towards the rift in the world itself, Aerith saw Tifa. She wasn't able to speak anymore, but the second she passed ground level, she met Tifa's gaze for a second.

_I am sorry._

Tifa was stunned for a second. Then, hell broke loose. The whole canyon turned into a raging ocean of flames. Rock melted and turned into lava. Tifa was thrown back by an explosion originating from the point where Aerith had crashed into the rift. Two gigantic claws reached out of the canyon, and a roar that was clearly not from this world shook the earth.

Luxord took the chance to attack Tifa from long range. A whip of black energy roared towards Tifa, who was still on the ground, dazed. Unable to defend herself in this state, she took a direct hit. The black energy cut through her shoulder and tore off an arm. Blood spilled over the ground, over her face and clothes. The pain was enough to take her back to the real world.

Luxord saw that the situation was becoming dangerous and started to run. He was exhausted. That sword-wielding man, then the sorceress woman…but she was dead, and the black-clad woman would die too.

Or so he thought. Something grabbed him at his back, at his neck, and slammed him into the ground with a force he couldn't have imagined to be possible. Not even Saïx had this much brute force!

Tifa, through fatally wounded, had caught up with the blond and had slammed him into the ground. She was right next to him, looking down at him. The flames in the background were raging, getting more fierce, and Tifa's face and her whole body were scarred with burns. She had lost an arm. But her gaze made one thing sure—Luxord would not escape without a fight, and he was about to lose.

Putting up his shield, Luxord hoped she would rather exhaust herself and break down. But that plan failed almost instantly.

Tifa's strength had grown exponentially in those two years. Her fist went through the shield with ease, shattering it to pieces, and she hit Luxord's stomach. He knew the damage a strong force could cause in its victim, and this was nearly like it—but this was just pure physical and ten times as strong. His bones broke in an instant, he spat blood. He knew he would die here. Not even his final cards would help him. Soon, this place itself would be consumed by the flames of the beast that crazy sorceress had summoned before she died.

Tifa hit him again and again. His arms broke, his ribs, his shoulders. Soon, he was unable to move. Tifa had broken every single bone in his body. She sat on his body, looking at his face. The way she was bleeding, it was a wonder she hadn't collapsed.

"You will die here with me, woman!" Luxord hissed, and started to grin. He could still bluff his way out of here.

"I don't care. You took everything from me. Kairi. Naminé. Olette. Aerith! _Everything!!_" Nothing mattered anymore. Slowly closing her grasp on Luxord's throat, Tifa leaned down. "And now I shall take everything from you."

Slowly closing her grasp, Tifa exerted extreme force. Luxord tried to say something, tried to bet for his life, but it was futile. Tifa crushed his neck and Luxord was dead. Still feeling the rage burning inside her, Tifa smashed his skull to pieces with one last powerful punch. Then finally the pain and the blood loss took their toll.

She was surrounded by an ocean of flames. There was no way out now. As she looked in the direction of the town, she saw Yuffie. Was she wounded? She couldn't tell.

The ninja was yelling. What was she saying? Tifa couldn't understand. Only one word. _Aerith_. Slowly, she shook her head, then looked at the canyon. The claws of the beast had finally left the canyon and its horns were now visible. Soon, this monster, the elemental Lord of Fire, would stomp over the earth, destroying anything in its way.

Suddenly, someone was pulling on the arm she had left.

"Tifa, we need to get out of here! What happened to your other arm?!"

Yuffie was injured. Tifa tried to speak but her vocal cords refused to work. Yuffie continued to pull on her arm, but it was too late. The flames had fully engulfed them, leaving no way to escape.

"Aerith is dead…" Tifa whispered, and Yuffie turned around, pale as a ghost. "She summoned Belias, the Lord of Fire. Soon, this will be a wasteland. I…" Tifa couldn't finish. She lost consciousness and everything went black. Soon, she would be reunited with Kairi, Naminé, Olette, and Aerith.

---Valiant Hearts---

Yuffie was having a hard time. Xigbar was indeed a powerful foe, one she couldn't underestimate. This was different from their fight in Twilight Town. She was different. She had had a lot of time to improve her ninja skills after she had accepted that Olette was gone. She knew every corner of this place, how to take every step. She had a clear advantage. But still, she couldn't let down her guard.

Yuffie had gone into hiding between the small alleys between the buildings. She had a plan to take down Xigbar, but she had only once chance to do it. Hollow Bastion was under attack. She didn't need to hold back.

She was faster, but he was more powerful and had virtually unlimited ammo. She knew it was useless to attack blindly. It was a battle of wits, not power.

Xigbar was prepared for her tactics. If someone was hiding, you just had to destroy all places to hide. He threw dagger after dagger, and he soon had sown them all over the surrounding area.

He didn't waste any time. Yelling out a single word, the daggers exploded almost simultaneously, reducing building after building to rubble and dust. He was the only member of the Organization beside the Superior that could float without the help of tools. Ascending higher and higher, he started to glance over the ruins of the buildings. The girl had to be there somewhere!

But Yuffie was nowhere to be seen. Had she escaped? Had she given up on fighting him? That would make things easier, but it was unlikely. She was probably hiding behind all that rubble.

Ascending even higher, he was easily sixty feet above ground now. Taking a deep breath, he started summoning more daggers, until they reached a staggering amount. With a single stroke of his arm, they flew in every direction, virtually covering the entire area below him. The following explosion was enormous and shook the ground. He could feel the shock wave in the air even this far up above.

Xigbar noticed too late that he had left himself open from all sides, even this high over the ground. Yuffie was standing right below him, hidden behind a collapsed wall that had protected her against the continuous rain of exploding daggers. It took time to form the seal for her most powerful attack. Using a small detonator, the wall collapsed in itself, giving her free view of Xigbar.

Without a second to lose, Yuffie unleashed a powerful beam of concentrated energy. This was her strongest technique, All Creation. Xigbar noticed too late what was coming at him and took a direct hit, but it still wasn't enough. He fell sixty feet and crashed into the burning rubble.

But he was still alive. With a diabolical grin, he rose from the flames, his body healing itself at a ridiculous rate. Open wounds were closing and his grin only grew larger. What was he?!

Yuffie decided to retreat for now. If he had survived that, she had no means of killing him herself. Crashing four smoke bombs, she decided to look for Tifa and Aerith. She lacked the raw power to destroy an opponent like this in a direct battle, and she didn't have the time to lay any big traps for him. Suddenly, daggers roared through the air, striking the ground to the right and left of her. This battle was now a game of tag.

"Run, like the insect you are, ahahaha!" Xigbar yelled, laughing. He was following after Yuffie, constantly forcing her to change directions, scratching her with daggers, but never hitting her directly. She was the prey and he was the hunter. When he was done, he would take her back and…modify her for his own pleasure.

Yuffie ran for her life, taking small alleys to get rid of her pursuer, but he was faster than she was since he was able to fly. She had to get away somehow. The constant pressure of dying when he got her was getting to her. Pulling her custom-made shuriken from her back, a weapon that Cid that made for her, the Conformer. This weapon was made so that it was easy to control and manipulate, and so she decided that she had to fight if retreat was impossible. Maybe there was a trick to his regeneration ability.

Grabbing a pipe in mid-air, Yuffie did a somersault and flew in the opposite direction, directly towards Xigbar, who was going too fast to stop in mid-air. Yuffie crashed right into him but managed to use him as footboard so that she reached the heights of the roofs again. As she turned around in mid-air, she threw her shuriken so that it slashed his left side wide open before returning to her.

As expected, the wound closed. The effect wasn't instant, though—it regenerated in a matter of seconds. She could use this, but it would be a dangerous task. However, something had to be done about this guy.

Vanishing back into a side alley, Yuffie pulled a little vial out of her pocket and uncorked it before drinking it in one gulp. It tasted extremely disgusting, but this was one of the tinctures that Rydia had brewed for her—speed oil.

Yuffie could feel her heart protesting, but the magic soon did its work. Moving so fast that she left after-images, Yuffie moved through the side alleys, leaving small objects all over the place. The effect would wear off in one minute, so she had no time to hesitate when Xigbar had fully regenerated and started following her again.

"Futile! You cannot kill me, human!" Xigbar roared, slightly annoyed. Even though he regenerated, he still felt pain and it exhausted him. He spotted the little ninja in a street to his right and followed her. He was sick of playing hunt now. Summoning dozens of daggers, he started to bombard everything in his way. She was leading him in circles. Ascending over the roofs, he saw Yuffie trip in the middle of a bigger space between several buildings. He would kill her.

Closing in with ridiculous speed, Xigbar attacked Yuffie and several daggers hit her back. Yuffie cried out in pain and blood started to flow all over her back. It wasn't fatal damage, but the wounds hurt badly and she was losing a lot of blood.

"Now you're mine, little girl!" Xigbar's laughter roared through the empty alleys. Yuffie turned around, kneeling on the ground, with a grin on her face.

"Bomb voyage, idiot." And with a single hit, Yuffie caused the ground to break, letting herself fall down. A second later, the air above her was covered in flames. Over one hundred bombs were triggered in a chain reaction and Xigbar's screams were like sweet music to the black-haired girl.

Pulling the daggers from her back, Yuffie used her remaining strength to cast a cure magic to stop the bleeding. Thank God she had gotten Aerith to teach her some simple spells.

There was no time to lose. She had lured Xigbar to this area on purpose—even got herself injured—and now was her chance. Even if he had survived that blast, regeneration would take time. She just had to kill him before he regenerated.

Jumping out of the hole in the ground, Yuffie saw Xigbar lying on the ground. His left arm and leg had been torn off and turned to dust, and he was covered in wounds. Glistening flesh was showing on his face, and some places were burnt down to the bone. And he was still alive.

"Silly girl. Even this won't kill me. You can trick me, but you cannot kill me," Xigbar mocked Yuffie, lying there, his flesh slowly regenerating.

"Doesn't hurt to try." And with a single movement, Yuffie was over him. "You took away the only person that ever loved me. And now you will die for that, Nobody!"

Pulling another vial of a shimmering silver liquid out of her pocket, Yuffie uncorked it. "Silver acid. This is the only acid potent enough to dissolve even Keyblades." And with eyes full of malice, she emptied the vial on Xigbar's chest and face. The acid started to work immediately. His screams of pain and agony were ear-piercing, and the regeneration couldn't keep up with the damage the acid was causing. Xigbar was on his last breath when Yuffie assembled something from multiple pieces from her pockets. It sort of looked like a octogon-shaped cube. It was entirely red.

Looking one last time at the hated foe, Yuffie turned and jumped first on a balcony, then on a roof. Throwing the cube high in the air, she ran as fast as she could. Ten. Yuffie was on the next building. Five. Yuffie had passed one of the district's walls. One. She took cover behind the wall, ready to move in case the wall didn't hold.

The explosion was like nothing in this world. It was a bomb that was just crystals imbued with summoning magic. The wall held, but Yuffie knew that more than half of the entire district must've been destroyed.

Running as fast as she could, there seemed to be an even bigger fire to the west, in the direction of the canyon. It didn't take her long to see what had happened. Tifa was sitting in an ocean of flames, over what appeared to be pieces of a corpse. Yuffie tried to call out to her, but Tifa didn't seem to hear.

Making a big jump, Yuffie managed to get inside and her way to Tifa. She was bleeding heavily and was missing one of her arms. "Tifa, we need to get out of here! What happened to your other arm?!"

"Aerith is dead…" Tifa whispered and Yuffie turned around, pale as a ghost. "She summoned Belias, the Lord of Fire. Soon, this will be a wasteland. I…" Tifa fainted. Yuffie didn't know what to do. Tifa was too heavy for her to carry out of this inferno. And…Aerith was dead? That reminded her, where was Xaldin? Luxord was below Tifa, or at least what remained of him. Yuffie couldn't imagine the rage that must've gotten to Tifa to cause…this.

"Yuffie!"

Luck was on their side. Leon had found them. "What…? Never mind. We need to escape to the castle." Leon pulled Tifa up. She seemed too light. Yuffie used a bomb to open a momentary path through the flames. They ran as fast as they could.

They passed an alley where they could hear laughter. Laughter that one only could dream of in nightmares. Laughter so evil that it sent chills running down their spines even though the whole city was burning.

A shadow of a man with spiky hair and a big sword was slashing away at a defenseless citizen in one of the alleys. Leon stopped, unable to believe what he saw. Was that…_Cloud?_

Leon was proven wrong. A second later, a man with blue spiky hair, wielding a big two-handed sword and eyes glowing like those of a wild beast and his robe stained with so much blood that it had become entirely red. "Oh, who do we have here? The commander of the cockroaches and a little girl? Taking out the trash, are we?" With a malicious grin, he pointed his sword towards Tifa, being carried by Leon.

"I'll hold him up. I'm too quick, he won't get me. You get Tifa to safety," Yuffie said, and pulled out her Conformer. "Go!" Yuffie instantly made it to the rooftops, not letting Saïx out of her line of view.

Leon didn't like being ordered, but it was the best decision. Turning around, he ran. He didn't get far. Yuffie screamed in pain and when Leon turned around, he saw her being thrown on the ground so violently that the ground cracked under the impact. What kind of monster was Saïx?

Yuffie got up in time to escape, but Leon couldn't believe his eyes. Saïx moved so fast that it seemed like Yuffie wasn't moving at all. With one powerful sweep, Yuffie was no more. Saïx's sword cut right through her stomach, slashing her in half. Leon was stunned. He would be next. He would die.

But it didn't happen. When he came to his senses, he looked at Saïx. Something had pierced his chest. The tip…of a lance? Cid! Cid showed up behind Saïx. His lance had pierced the chest of the monster. Apparently that had killed him, as he had stopped moving.

Leon made his way to Yuffie. There was nothing he could do. She would die in seconds. He bowed down, Yuffie seemed to say something. "If…she ever comes back….tell her…I loved her." Yuffie's eyes stopped moving. Her last words were only heard by Leon.

"Leon, watch out!" Cid yelled. Looking up, Saïx was about to take his head off. By throwing himself on the ground, he avoided the slash. But Cid wasn't as lucky. The power of the sword caused Saïx to rotate around his own axis, slashing through the wall of the alley and one of Cid's arms.

"Run, ya damned idiot, _run__!_" Cid yelled, and pulled out something from his jacket. Leon knew what it was and started running. Cid would give his life to save Tifa's and his. Leon bit his lip so hard that he started to bleed, but he would not let his friend's sacrifice go to waste.

Saïx was smiling. "You will die here, weakling." The lance had broken on the shaft, but half of it was still pierced through Saïx's chest. He didn't feel any pain. He felt no fear. Stomping over the bloody remains of Yuffie, he walked towards Cid.

"Sorry, pal, but ya gotta go with me. You an' all the bloody assholes messing this up." Cid spat on the ground, then pushed a button.

Leon was thrown to the ground from the force of the explosion. Cid had detonated an Ultima bomb, an experimental bomb that was strong enough to destroy a portal of the Heartless. Saïx must be dead as well.

Reaching the castle gates safely, Leon made it inside. There were a lot of people, scared and injured, some crying, some in shock. Leon looked for the medical mages that were busy treating civilians. Tifa needed immediate healing.

As soon as he found two mages to look after the gravely-injured Tifa, another misery arrived. Screams of people were alarming him.

"They're here…they're here!! We're all going to die!" Someone was screaming. Leon ran to the next window and looked in the direction everyone was looking. And there, he saw the true beginning of a nightmare.

A sky as dark as the void between worlds, a black mass led by giants, sprinkled by white was advancing towards them. Stretching across the horizon, their numbers were infinite. They would soon crash into the town like a flood, devouring everything in their path. People were already panicking, storming into the castle. Leon had to make a choice. A choice between bad and terrible.

"Close the doors! Barricade them!" He yelled. The few remaining soldiers were confused and looked at their leader.

"But there are still people outside!"

Leon drew his gunblade and pointed it to the head of the soldier that had responded. "We don't have enough rations to keep the people inside here alive! I don't want to do this, but _close the doors!!_" Leon yelled. The soldiers were scared of the fierce glare in Leon's eyes and did as told.

People that were shut out started to hammer against the door. "Let us in! Please! They're coming! The Heartless are comi—ahhhhhh!" It had already started. The black mass clashed into the city, devouring everything, like a tsunami of destruction. The castle gates were holding, but it was only a question of time until even those were penetrated.

Leon knew that the amount supplies they had was small. He was the only one of the committee he knew that was alive and could fight. He knew that they could not win. He knew it, but he couldn't give up.

"Bring all medical and armed personnel to the most upper level, to the gateway memorial. We are retreating. Don't tell the civilians." Leon knew that the ones going with him would be the last to die. But those that went would most likely die of thirst and hunger, as they had very little supplies. No help would come. They had lost. The only path ahead was that of the defeated.

Moving slowly, the soldiers and medical mages left. Leon carried Tifa. They barricaded every door behind them. After they reached the highest level, they could hear the screams of the poor people they had left behind. At least they had found a quick death. They didn't suffer long.

"What do we do now, sir?" One of the soldiers asked Leon, who was just putting Tifa down on the ground.

"I don't know. I really don't know." Leon looked at the closed gateway that had once led to a world created by fragments of destroyed ones. The End of all Worlds, as they had called it. It was where Kairi had confronted Ansem.

Kairi. Naminé. Olette. Aerith. Yuffie. Cid. They were all dead. He and Tifa were the only ones left. He couldn't feel grief. He couldn't feel anything. It was like his emotions had died with his friends. They were only a few dozen people—around fifteen mages and maybe just as many soldiers.

Leon decided that it was time to face reality. There wasn't anything he could do. He was not a Keyblader. He had never been one of the Chosen Ones. And now he had failed. They had failed. They were the last obstacle to the Organization and the Heartless. And now, they were about to be annihilated.

Leon looked around until he found was he was looking for. A little book with maybe a hundred pages. After a bit of rummaging, he also found a pen. Even if he didn't survive, he would write down what happened. Chances were that the book wouldn't last—it would burn or decay before someone found it.

It was hot. He could see outside, the Heartless were being devoured by the raging flames of the beast that had escaped from the canyon. It was higher than the castle itself, and it was ripping apart the shadowborn, stomping upon everything, its flames devouring everything. But oddly enough, it didn't seem to attack the castle itself.

_Day I. Defeat,_ Leon wrote on the first page. This journal was the only thing left for him to do. People was scared, but he had nothing to say to ease their worries. He knew they would all die soon, either because the Heartless would eventually break through the doors, or because they'd die of thirst and starvation.

"Today, the darkest day in the history of Hollow Bastion has come. This world has fallen. The only ones alive are Tifa and myself, Leon, governor of Hollow Bastion. Two years ago, 27 A. RD., we lost our Keybladers in an incident—Kairi, Naminé, and Olette. I fear they have been dead for some time now. But it doesn't matter anymore. This world will soon die, along with us. Today…today is the beginning of a new era of darkness."

Leon finished the entry and closed the book. He was exhausted. Slowly, his vision faded and soon everything went black.

Only the doors of the upper levels held. Everyone on the lower levels was dead. The castle was being destroyed with every passing minute. Leon had made more entries in the book. The title of the book was _The Downfall of Hollow Bastion_. It was more a journal.

Night came and left. The days were spent in anxiety just as the nights were. The monster summon had vanished, but Hollow Bastion was nothing more than a couple of ruins now. Every plant, every living being had been consumed by the infernal flames. Only a few ruins of the once-powerful Hollow Bastion remained.

Tifa refused to eat or drink. She never spoke a word, not to anyone. Her eyes were empty, like those of a mindless doll. Leon knew the moment he first saw her awake. Tifa was dead. Her soul was not there anymore. When Aerith had died, the only thing that had kept Tifa alive must've been the thirst for vengeance. Now that even that was gone…she was just an empty shell.

Nobody except Leon noticed when she died. She was leaning against a wall, with the same empty look. Leon noticed it the second night after the final attack. Tifa had stopped breathing. With shaking hands, Leon closed her eyes and laid her down. Some of the soldiers had already committed suicide, alongside some mages. Only about ten people were left alive, all scared and on the verge of insanity.

"Day V. Only ten people are alive now. I'm one of them, I think. Tifa died today. I think she really died the day Aerith was killed. She didn't talk, didn't notice anyone, didn't eat, didn't drink. It was just her body, her soul had long left. I am now the last one of the committee. We ran out of food today."

The constant anxiety. The never-ending fear the Heartless could come any moment.

---Valiant Hearts---

A week later, Leon was walking between corpses. The Heartless were still outside. He could hear them. See them. Smell them. He was keeping himself alive with magically-conjured ice, but soon, he too would die of starvation.

The gates were still holding, but not for much longer. Leon leaned against a wall, sitting, writing his final journal entry. He had run out of ink to write. He was writing with his own blood.

"Only I am left of the once-glorious Hollow Bastion, the last bastion against the Heartless. I can hear them. They are outside. Soon they will come for me. I can hear their claws scratching on the doors. I can hear their screams. I think the doors are breaking. They're coming…….they're coming……."

Leon knew he would die. The book on his knees, his gunblade in his hands, he rammed it into the ground next to him. The moment the doors gave in, Leon saw himself, sitting against the wall, looking down from the air. Was he already dying?

The Heartless were at him in seconds. They didn't take his heart. The last thing he heard was malicious laughter from a woman. "_Finally, it's mine, mine, mine!_"

Then, the Heartless tore him apart.

The days of Hollow Bastion from then on were dark. Belias, the Lord of Inferno, had not vanished but walked south. He burned everything in his way, until nothing but ash and ruins remained. For over a month he continued to walk across the world, and when he finally found nothing more to burn, he left.

Maleficent had become sick of this world that had been turned into ruins and desert. Its heart was shut away so tightly that not even Xemnas could reach it. In his rage, the god destroyed the moon that was orbiting Hollow Bastion. Fragments fell down all over the world, creating large craters and destroying what was left.

Soon, even the Heartless left. Maleficent destroyed every gateway that led to the world that was once known as Hollow Bastion.

Sand slowly claimed the world. Nothing was left alive. The only proof that humans had once lived there was found on the top floor, where one can still find the journal and the gunblade that once belonged to Leon, a hero that governed Hollow Bastion.

Years passed, and everything the Heartless didn't destroy was slowly claimed by sand.

Soon, the story of Hollow Bastion became legend. Legend became rumor. And rumor was finally forgotten in the eras of time. And with that, the tale of Hollow Bastion and the Keybladers ends. In the end, their power was not enough. In the end, they were only human.

In the end, Valiant Hearts were not enough to prevail against Darkness.

Fin~


End file.
